


Roses and Gun Oil

by SeigePhoenix



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Bodyguard AU, Eventual Smut, F/M, Let's get dangerous, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:41:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29354355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeigePhoenix/pseuds/SeigePhoenix
Summary: The Cousland family runs one of the best and most respectable security firms in the country of Ferelden.  After a mishap at the palace their family is hired to protect the royal family and upgrade security at the palace.  The youngest of the clan, Sorcha Cousland, is tasked with guarding the younger prince.  They uncover a sinister plot from within their own countrymen.  Can they overcome the dangers and perhaps find a little love in the process?
Relationships: Alistair/Female Cousland (Dragon Age)
Kudos: 3





	Roses and Gun Oil

Strictly business. At least that's what she told herself to calm the nerves that fluttered in her belly. They were always there at the first briefing. Even back when she'd taken that first bus to boot camp. The regularity soothed a lot of her anxieties even if the contrary nature amused her. This job was one of the biggest they'd taken in a long time. Sorcha took a deep breath and tugged at the hem of her fitted blazer. Midnight cloth fitted to her tall frame, black slacks, and a fitted white button up. Her dark brown hair was tucked up in a tight bun, the only way to control the unruly waves. The bane of her existence, it was difficult to be taken seriously when one’s hair was so unruly. Thankfully she wasn’t alone with her nerves. Sorcha's eyes darted to the side to see her two brothers.

They stood on either side of her as they awaited their orders. Each with back straight, feet shoulder width apart, with hands clasped at the small of their backs. There was no mistaking their relation to one another. They all inherited their father's facial structure but only Fergus and Sorcha inherited their mother’s coloring. Dark brown hair, bronzed skin, and hazel eyes. Ian got their maternal grandfather's coloring with auburn hair and pale green eyes. Sorcha always envied his eyes, her own were a simple hazel that leaned more towards brown tinged with dark green. Sorcha sighed in her mind and tried to distract herself. Hurry up and wait was a mantra with her father, a man that bled military colors and protocols. Each of his children had followed in his footsteps, though they each went to a different branch. Afterwards they left and joined the security company. _Highever Security_ was well known throughout their country as high-end security. Celebrities hired them for formal events, dignitaries contacted them when visiting and they wanted local security. Sorcha turned her mind towards their clients, the Ferelden royal family. The highest level clients they’d gotten yet. Her eldest brother, Fergus, would be the private bodyguard of the king and queen. A prestigious honor, one that reflected his decade and a half of service in the industry, and his highly decorated military service. Her middle brother, Ian, was put in charge of the royal heir and his wife. Ian had twelve years in service with another well decorated military career. Which left her with the youngest prince. Sorcha had seven years with the agency and ten with the country's elite armed forces.

Each sibling had been through various self-defense training, mixed martial art, weapons, and de-escalation protocols. Through the military and then further training with _Highever_. Sorcha specialized more in hand to hand combat. Her repertoire was full of self-defense and close quarter combat. Her skills included military combatives up to level four, mixed martial arts, and boxing. Her father disapproved of the boxing but he could see the benefits to such skills. Sorcha believed her training served her well in the family, it gave her the niche her older siblings lacked. Her brothers were no slouches but they focused more on cyber and situational security. Fergus specifically focused on cyberattacks and software security. Ian was the best situational security specialist the country could offer; he could find discrepancies in an Antivan Crow facility. Sorcha was the one who focused on physical and operational security. She liked making sure the teams were up to snuff. It had not been too much of a surprise when the royal family called in their security agency when the assassin had almost succeeded killing the king. The most surprising had been when Maric had been crowned and he _hadn’t_ hired the Couslands. The head of the agency and the king had a falling out two decades previous due to a mutual friend. Sorcha didn't know the exact details; the head of the agency was very closed lipped about it. 

She took a fortifying breath and ignored the elbow jab Ian gave her. Her eyes narrowed at the wall as she heard his quiet snickering. Brothers… Sorcha resisted the urge to kick his shin, barely. Sorcha thought back to the day the head of the agency had gotten the letter asking for their attendance in Denerim. She was honestly still surprised the king had reached out to their agency. Several elite security companies were vying for the royal family after the fiasco and the whole bad blood between them. Sorcha thought back to the headlines.

An assassination attempt that had almost succeeded had the youngest prince not interrupted the struggle. The king suffered minor wounds from it, and the prince had killed the assassin in self-defense. The king's facial wound was still fresh, and as such the royal family cut back on their public appearances while it healed. He couldn't afford any more scandal attached to his throne, not with the neighboring country eyeing it. They'd fought them once before and came out victorious. The resulting victory lead to a tentative treaty between the two monarchs. It didn't stop the Orlesians from casting their greedy gaze at Ferelden. Sorcha’s eyes focused on the door as it opened, breaking her from her thoughts. All the siblings straightened into proper parade rest as the head of the agency came in.

“I'm sure you three have read the contracts and dossiers?” He clasped his hands behind his back. He didn't look like a man in his early sixties. His midnight hair was liberally streaked with silver. His eyes were the same shade as the freshly tilled Ferelden soil and the lines around them were etched deep into his skin. His children inherited his height and build, strong as the Ferelden forests. He cast a speculative look at each of the agents. The siblings nodded at his unspoken question. “Good. We can't afford to let anything happen to the king and queen. Here are the schedules. You three are the primary guards, we have secondary ones that will switch out to allow for meals and sleep.” He handed them the schedule and Sorcha resisted the urge to snort as she glanced over it. Her duties were mainly during the day, a different guard would be available for night shifts. Compared to her siblings’ her schedule was fairly light. Did the prince not have a social calendar? It did give her some questions but she knew better than to ask.

“I'm counting on you three to represent us. Fergus, you'll be meeting the king and queen in their chambers. They're receiving all visitors in their sitting room today, to allow for the king's wounds to heal.” Fergus nodded. The reports had contained similar information. There were a few things that concerned him, but unlike his sister he was going to voice his concerns.

“I've taken the liberty of going over the cybersecurity in the palace. Apologies if that's stepping above my role.” Their father shook his head and motioned for Fergus to continue. “I saw flaws in their firewall and the passwords. I believe their previous chief of security had a password that consisted of 123ABC.” Ian and Sorcha snorted and quickly went silent at a glare from their boss. They looked straight ahead as they bit the inside of their cheeks. Though the information was hardly surprising given what they'd found in their own investigations.

“I'll suggest the king allow us to upgrade their security software. For an added fee of course.” All four grinned at the humor in it. The king's pockets would be lightened after they got finished with their security upgrades. Their agency would only accept the best standards. Expensive but worth it. Everyone paid their price for the level of security afforded. “And you Ian?”

“From my cursory glances I was able to pinpoint at least three compromised entrances. The fact the assassin was able to enter undetected is no surprise given what I found. I put into my report a few suggestions to better secure the worst of the areas.” The head nodded and then glanced at Sorcha. She straightened.

“What say you rookie?” Sorcha resisted the urge to puff out her cheeks at the playful teasing.

“From the information you've given me. The entire security team needs more training. They lack basic de-escalation protocols and prefer to show force. From the past we've seen how little that is effective. I also placed in my report suggestions for their own security training in basic combat.” She doubted it would go anywhere. The royals were known to not exactly take criticism well. The head chuckled and broke out into a grin.

“The cameras here are dummies. I double checked. It's why I chose this room. Now, tell me what you really think.” Relief swept through them as they relaxed their postures. Ian grinned and propped his elbow on Sorcha's shoulder. Fergus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. There were certain phrases he could use off the clock to describe the palace’s cybersecurity situation, and he was going to be liberal with them.

“Dad, this is ridiculous. Their software is completely outdated. At least eight years old. A five-year-old could hack into their systems by banging on the keyboard.” Fergus scratched the back of his head. They had quite a few grievances to air out after doing their own analysis of the royal family's security.

“No kidding? I'm not surprised. That entrance the assassin used? It's so decked out in gold plating that even a bumbling idiot could make it past. Shine a light and _poof_ cameras are blind.” Ian shook his head. Sorcha crossed her arms and huffed. Their security measures were insanely outdated. How could the previous security firm let things get so bad? She had her own theories about that but preferred to keep her opinion to herself.

“What about you pup?” Their father met her eyes with laughter dancing in his. Sorcha snorted and reached for her notebook.

“Oh no! Sorcha broke out the book. It must be bad.” Ian grinned as she shot him a glare and shrugged his arm off her shoulder.

“From what I've observed.” She started and whipped her head to her brother. “Stop mocking me jackass.” Ian held up his hands in defense before she turned back to her notebook.

“None of the security here conducts physical training. A ten-year-old could outrun half of them. I posed as a tourist and was given extremely detailed information about the royal schedule by one of the guards. Just by flirting. I put into my report about firing him.” Sorcha tucked the pen back behind her ear as she flipped over her notes.

“I see I taught you well. Thorough is quite the understatement for you three.” They nodded. They'd been trained by the best. “Well, remember to uphold our professional image while with the royal family. It's time to go meet your charges.” They took deep breaths in unison before the masks were back in place. They double checked to make sure everything was in place before they headed out to the royal sitting room. Couldn’t risk leaving anything behind that could be useful to the crown’s enemies.

Sorcha went with her brothers as they were each introduced to their charges. The king and queen seemed pleasant enough, and the prince and his wife were polite but distant to Ian. Sorcha was used to nobility, her own family had held the title _Teryn of Highever_ since the days of Calehad, but she never would understand that polite ice that coated every word. Sorcha hoped her charge wouldn’t be as bad. Her father walked beside her as they headed to the training yard. Her eyes, alert for any threat, darted around the hallway. She agreed with Ian's assessment about the security being lax. She wasn’t an expert on situational security but even she could spot the openings he spoke of. _Decoration over safety, the hallmark of nobility it seems._

“Here we are my dear.” He put his hand on her upper back in a gesture of support. Just resting above her holster, the gentle touch helped center her but at the same time… Sorcha resisted the urge to give him a questioning look. He rarely showed any affection when they were on the clock. Bryce Cousland was a warm and loving father but a merciless boss that demand the best. He'd never crack and show her this kind of attention unless… Could her assignment be that bad? Nerves fluttered in her belly as she noticed the soldiers pause in their training to watch. They approached the prince who was training alone in the ring, boxing by himself. Sorcha could appreciate the form. He had a fine form, perfect for defense. She couldn’t say anything about his offensive power as it didn’t appear he was taking it too seriously.

“Oi, princey. Your _bodyguard_ is here.” The sneer had her hackles rising. She'd faced that derision her entire life. Fought against it in the military and security business. Because she had tits, she was seen as weaker. It only took a few minutes in the ring for that derision to turn to humiliation. Never did she let that misogyny keep her down and out. Even if it never lent her any friends, she'd rather have the respect. Sorcha learned how to make use of what she had rather than work for what she'd never get.

The prince turned and saw them approach. His face split in a grin and he hopped down from the ring. She froze and refused to glance up at her father. The man was handsome, the portraits hadn't done him justice. His sandy blond hair was cut close to his head, she appreciated the cleanliness of the style. Military fade with just enough on top to give him an almost boyish charm. She wanted to groan in frustration. The man was her type. Though, he wasn't as tall as she expected. Or she was just that tall. He only had a few inches on her. Though the man’s shoulders… She could feel small if he ever hugged her and that thought had no business in her head. Sorcha watched him wipe off his hands and face before he turned to her father. “It slipped my mind that it was today. I'm sorry.”

“You don't need to apologize to us your highness. I merely wish to introduce your bodyguard. From today forward she is the one who will be at your side.” He nodded towards Sorcha who gave him a courtly bow. Hard to curtsey in pants and blazer and she’d always been abysmal at the court gesture. Her mother had lamented many a night about her inability to bend her knee at the proper angle.

“It's an honor to work for you, your highness.” Sorcha gave him her most polite smile. Judgment would be reserved until she got to know the prince. He glanced to the side awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. That got her curious. Was he unused to the title? There were rumors after all but she didn’t pay them any mind.

“You don't have to bow.” Sorcha looked up at her father who shrugged. “It’s nice to meet you… I'm sorry. I don't remember your name.” She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the laughter inside. He looked so adorably embarrassed, she wanted to laugh. As if the lapse caused him great pain but she was used to it. Royalty and nobility didn’t remember the names of the help, not in her experience.

“Sorcha. Sorcha Cousland at your service.”


End file.
